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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Sustain. Tour.
Sec. Social Impact of Tourism
Volume 4 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frsut.2025.1561748
Studying Short-Term Rental Platform Perceptions and Use through a Digital Inequality Lens
Provisionally accepted
Mona Masoumi Dinan1
Christoph Lutz2*- 1University of Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain
- 2BI Norwegian Business School, Oslo, Norway
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Short-term rental (STR) platforms hold promise for promoting inclusive tourism, although the digital divide risks barring certain groups from reaping these benefits. Existing research has analyzed the impacts of STR platforms but there is a lack of evidence on impact perceptions, especially as they relate to socio-demographic variables. To address this shortcoming and using digital inequality theory, we report the results of a survey in the United States and the United Kingdom. We find that age is a significant factor in shaping perceptions and engagement with STR platforms. Younger individuals have a more positive outlook towards STRs and are more likely to use them. Education and income also influence STR use. American respondents generally had more positive perceptions of STR impacts yet showed less engagement with the platforms than their British counterparts. These insights can inform strategies to mitigate digital inequalities and optimize the inclusivity of STR platforms.
Keywords: digital inequality, Inclusive tourism, short-term rental platforms, Sharing economy, Perceived Impact
Received: 16 Jan 2025; Accepted: 07 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Masoumi Dinan and Lutz. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Christoph Lutz, BI Norwegian Business School, Oslo, Norway
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.